“The Breath of Life” is a 2-hour fantasy animation made by Two people, Russian linguist Anna Gerasimova and an award-winning artist Arthur Herring, a husband-and-wife team. It’s an epic adventure, evolving into a richly creative world following its own unique laws. It has a big love story both in the film, and behind the scenes. The compelling plot is generously laced with humor and resolves into an unexpected twist at the end.
“WOW! – is in fact an understatement for the monumental feat you have achieved,” says Aryan Saha, award-winning writer, international movie producer. “Two people making a two-hour film. This is incredible, it is something nobody else would have done. I have seen numerous dreams (of aspiring filmmakers) die within months of failure, it takes great determination, patience and perseverance. What makes it even more special is the fact that you two were not even filmmakers before or possessed the desired skillset, experience and technical knowhow of animation or music. I am really out of words.”
The development of this epic story from within the intimate home production studio was challenging but exciting. And the outcome of three and a half years of intense work, study and creativity is an animated film which is different from most others: it’s like an illustrated storybook that came to life. Each character is ornately “hand painted” with an intended focus on emotions, which makes them more human and stand out from standard flat cartoons.
Arthur’s professional and rich artistic experience in both fine art and digital art is clearly seen in the beauty of each elaborately created scene. His early Motion Graphic and Animation achievements have already inspired other artists to develop their skills as well and to expand into new platforms. Which brings us to the most important point here.
It’s a dawn of a new era in movie making – people are making movies from home, not waiting for a producer to share in the vision and invest into it. Anna and Arthur learned most of the skills for free online. This can give others confidence that there are ways in the modern world to make their dreams come true, create their own animated features. How many people have screenplays collecting dust on the shelf…? “The Breath of Life” 2D animation is an example that could encourage creators to take a chance and have their stories be seen in the world.
For more details, check out their website: Animated Films | Home Pictures (breathoflifemovie.com)